The three seniors conducted a multi-factor experiment and found that women reported being more attracted to a man’s online dating profile if he suggested that he was either wealthy or intelligent. Interestingly, profiles suggesting a man was both wealthy and intelligent were less attractive to female participants.

“Their first-place finish is a testament to the excellent work, creative thinking, and general understanding of the world and how it works that is demonstrated by our students regularly in the classroom,” said Nathan Tintle, Dordt College professor of statistics.

Dordt College juniors Will Kooima (Ridgecrest, California) and Narayan Nunez Blandon (Nicaragua) received honorable mention for their project “Racial Profiling in Sioux County.” In their project, Kooima and Blandon found that a significantly higher proportion of individuals of Hispanic background received tickets in the county when compared to the proportion of Hispanic people living in Sioux County. They also found that some Dordt College students feel profiled, but that these students actually reported getting pulled over less often than students who did not feel profiled.